Chapter Sixty Three

Surge's tympole ship was fast. Certainly fast enough to catch up with Wildcard Gamma. If Macro had noticed it, he certainly hadn't acted. His schooling wishiwashi trundled along as nonchalant as a ship could appear.

"We're almost there," said Matrix. "Either this ship's cloak keeps us off Wildcard Gamma's radar, or he just couldn't care less."

"Or he knows it's us," said Switch.

"He won't know it's us," said Anchor. "Surge has been following us all across System. Maybe he just doesn't see her as a threat?"

"I'm banking on him not seeing us." Matrix lazily wound his antenna and glanced over his shoulder at the granbull. "Unless DL's driving and she doesn't know how to deal with a threatening ship?"

Anchor jolted and fixed his eyes on Wildcard Gamma's tail. "I thought I taught her how to use the weapons."

"You're worrying about that?" Switch gasped. "Be glad she's not firing on us!"

Anchor looked back at the talonflame, but before he could speak, Switch flapped his wings in what little space he had available.

"Eyes on the road!" he snapped.

"Sheesh, calm down." Anchor turned back in his seat and steered the ship as Macro's turned towards Botnet City's blinking antenna. "Anyone would think you were scared of flyin'."

"No, I am fine with flying," said Switch. "I just prefer to be in control of my own wings."

"I know that feel," said Matrix.

"Well, I'd say it's about time he noticed us," said Anchor. "Before he throws himself into danger. 'Cos I sincerely doubt Botnet's gonna welcome him with open paws."

"Do most places?" Switch asked. "'Cos I get the feeling not many places welcome you."

"Botnet City is a whole kinda special on that regard." Anchor reached across the dashboard and launched the tympole's turrets. "One missile oughta get his attention."

"You're actually firing on your own ship?" Switch gasped.

"Just the one," said Anchor.

"But that's crazy!" said Switch. "You could kill him!"

"Not if I know where to hit. Besides, it's a secret space pirate language. Single shot fired, then strafe to the side and hold off firin'. Let's them know you only want their attention."

"Well I still think it's nuts." Switch huddled down into his feathers. "I'd bail this ship if I had the chance. What if he fires on us?"

"He shouldn't. Now let me focus." Anchor reached for the missile button. "I don't wanna do too much damage, especially since I'll be the one doin' the repairs."

...

The closer they drew to Botnet City, the more hollowed out Macro began to feel. Without his crew, he felt very exposed. No sooner had he spotted the blinking antenna in the distance, he retreated to his room. Out of sight, but definitely not out of mind. Given Botnet wasn't a billion miles from Cyan City, it had taken them less than a day to reach it. Each mile they grew closer to it, the more anxious he became. His yellow fur was damp with sweat and he tossed and turned on his bed, desperate to think about anything else.

A violent tremor shook the ship and Macro hit the floor nose first. He pushed himself up, groaning as he rubbed his snore snout, and looked over his shoulder at his closed door. What on earth was that? Botnet's missiles couldn't reach this far, could they? Unless he was much closer than he'd initially thought.

He sprang to his feet and bolted from the room, fastening his goggles in place as he sped down the hallway. A frantic DL turned the corner before he could stop, and she crashed straight into him, bowling him backwards onto his bottom. He caught her before she hit the ground, her weight knocking him flat on his back. He pushed himself back up and opened his eyes, meeting DL's. That hollowed feeling seemed to fade away, filling up with something warm and fuzzy. He brushed his claws across her cheek and chuckled.

"I think we need a 'no running' rule," he said.

She grabbed his paw in hers, but that frantic look didn't leave her eyes. "It's Surge's ship..."

Macro clenched his teeth together and pushed himself to his feet. "That wretched zigzagoon sure is a mood killer."

DL followed him as he stomped his way towards the cockpit. "What's she doing following us?"

"Oh, she just wants to kill me is all." He paused at the controls, noting Surge's smiling tympole on the camera.

"Kill you?" DL gasped. "But she helped you! I thought she was a friend."

"Makin' friends ain't easy when you're in my line of work, sweetheart." He sighed at the smaller ship and shook his head. "Apparently Socket hired her after I did."

"But she's wanted as well, right?"

"Apparently she doesn't care." He nodded to the weapons controls. "Fire back. Blast it into the ocean."

DL clenched her paws together and looked from the controls to Macro and back.

"What are you waitin' for?" he asked. "At this rate, she'll shoot us down first!"

"I can't do that," she said. "She helped me."

"Yes, and now she's trying to kill me!"

DL stared at him for a moment, then let her paws relax at her sides. She approached the weapons and her paws flew over the controls.

"Maybe we can incapacitate her," she said. "Knock her weapons out so she's no threat."

Macro leant on the dashboard beside her, eyes fixed on the tympole as his ship spun around to face it. The familiar whir of Wildcard Gamma's turrets spinning around its hull filled the cockpit, and he watched a stream of bubbles head for Surge's ship. It ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the bombs. Two of them hit its tail rudder, snapping it clean in two. The tympole spun precariously through the sky until it righted itself at Wildcard Gamma's left side.

"Nice shot," said Macro. "With its rudder snapped, that might slow it down."

"I wasn't aiming for the rudder." DL spun the ship around again to face the tympole head on. "I was aiming for its face."

More bubbles launched forth, but the tympole was unable to dodge. The bombs collided with a missile just as the tympole launched one from its mouth. The two explosives detonated, sending a shockwave that blew Wildcard Gamma back several feet. Macro stared wide-eyed at the smoke. There was no sign of the ship. DL's jaw was slack, her paw still on the weapons controls. Once the smoke subsided, the tympole hovered a good few feet away. Its face was gone, replaced by a hollow, black hole. It made no attempt to go after them. How it was staying airborne, Macro had no idea.

"Well, I think that sorts that problem." He fell into his seat and rubbed his face with a paw. "Let's just get to Botnet."

DL turned the ship back towards Botnet City's blinking antenna. "Can you contact her? I want to know she's okay."

"I ain't contacting a 'mon out to assassinate me, DL."

She glanced behind them in the tympole's direction, but it was well out of their view. With a sigh, she turned back to the controls.

"Then if this is the sort of thing space pirates do," she said, "I'm not sure I want to be one anymore."

Macro leant on his paws, keeping his eyes on Botnet City. That horrible feeling was back, gnawing at his gut. "To be honest, neither am I."

...

Anchor pulled himself out from beneath the dash, choking on smoke. The ship's filters rattled away in a desperate bid to clear it, but the impact from those missiles had greatly reduced their efficiency.

"Good grief, Matrix!" he spat. "What on earth were you thinking launching another missile?"

"I was trying to blow back their attack." Matrix's voice was weak. "Given you refused to do it."

Anchor wafted the smoke aside, trying to locate the ribombee. His ears twitched and he turned to face the dull buzz of his wings. He thought he could make out his tiny form in the far corner of the cockpit, right beside Switch.

"Are either of you injured?" Anchor asked.

"I'm all right." Switch exploded into a coughing fit. He tried to stifle it to say, "But Matrix hit the wall pretty hard."

"I'm fine." Matrix groaned and his wings buzzed for another split second. "Actually, I think I've broken something."

Anchor fought the urge to curse and instead kicked aside the dashboard's cover. "Great, now we're stuck here."

"Why can't we just contact him?" Switch asked.

"Because I ain't been thinkin' straight," said Anchor. "Macro might be a reckless buffoon, but he doesn't normally pull stunts like this. I didn't wanna risk a thorough ribbing off him, but like a fool I've always got his back!"

"So we went after him in his enemy's ship, and fired at him in a 'secret pirate language'," said Switch. "Great plan!" He clapped his wings together, wafting up the smoke enough for Anchor to see his golden eyes.

"I don't appreciate the sass, Switch," Anchor growled.

"Then why not contact him now?" Switch asked. "Tell him it was us! Then he might come back and get us!"

"Because my computer got crushed in that explosion!"

"Mine's fine." Matrix winced as he reached into his belt. "I can contact him."

Anchor slumped to the floor and rubbed his temples. Another cough racked his body, making him desperately wish for a filter mask.

"Oh wait..." Matrix threw his tiny arms in the air. "The battery is dead."

Switch's beak fell open and he fixed Matrix with a look that said 'are you kidding me?'

"Any chance the power still works so I can charge it?" Matrix asked.

Switch sighed and hung his head. "Maybe I can carry us to Botnet City? It's not that far away, and my wing has almost completely healed."

"Flying types can't fly this high," said Anchor. "Atmosphere's too thin. You'll die before we reach it."

He stared blankly at the far wall. The power must have been working somewhere since they'd not dropped towards the ocean yet. One of those thruster ships with the engine in the rear, complete with its own separate power supply. But for how much longer it would last he had no idea. Let alone if it would be capable of charging a computer. He'd probably have to re-route the power to the ship's computers, and none of those were working. If they were going to get the ship moving again, he'd have to get to work. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet. It was going to be a long day.

...

Botnet City. Home to electric type pokemon. A city of entertainment, with its own share of natural greenery. There was very little fruit grown. Most food was imported from towns and cities that could grow it, mostly Gear Village and Cyan City. The air hummed with static, pushing Macro's fur on end before he even left his ship. He smoothed it back down and glanced at DL who gave him an amused smile. The smile faded away as they checked their weapons and made for the hatch.

"I don't remember much at all about this city," she said.

"Well, I know it quite well," he said. "So I wouldn't worry. Sure you don't wanna wait on the ship?"

"No. I don't want you going in alone. You need backup."

He grimaced but bit back a retort. He'd much rather she was safe on his ship, but he'd already made that clear. "It'll probably be pretty dangerous."

"I can handle it."

He met her chocolate eyes, the warmth melting him. If there was fear there, she hid it well. He took her paw and pulled her into him, catching her lips in his. Her warm body wove around his and for a brief moment he thought about bailing on the mission altogether. Just taking off to somewhere else in System and starting over. But he couldn't do that to her, or to System. The world was relying on them.

He pulled back from her and took a steadying breath. "Then let's get this over with, huh?"

She nodded, smoothing down her fur.

"It says the memory disk is in a safe in the town hall," he explained. "City Governor's office. It'll be a straight in, straight out job. No time to get reacquainted."

"I understand." She opened the hatch.

Macro poked his head out and glanced around. No one was around to see him. No one on the docks, at least not this end of it. His ship was completely invisible to the naked eye, but the cloak drank fuel like water. They'd need to be quick if they were to make it back to Cyan City. He had no desire to tap a government ship for fuel, or use the city's refuelling station. Such feats would not go unnoticed.

They hopped out onto the docks and ducked towards the city dome's entry point. Unfortunately it needed a code. Fortunately, Macro had that code thanks to the dark underbelly of the internet.

Not a pokemon was in sight. No security waiting at the dome. No government soldiers keeping an eye open for invading ships. What was going on? Was Botnet City also under threat from Ultra Beasts and everyone was dealing with that? If so, he desperately hoped he didn't encounter it.

But it was just so... surreal. Not a single pokemon in the streets. Music hummed from entertainment buildings, billboards flashed their animated adverts, the data antenna blinked its red and green lights at regular intervals. But it was broadcasting to a ghost town.

"Why is it so empty?" DL asked.

"I dunno, but I don't like it." He placed a paw on her shoulder and steered her towards the square. "Come on, let's just hope the town hall is just as empty. It'll make our job easier."

Part of him worried everyone would be in the square waiting for him. But just like the rest of the city, it was empty. It made the town hall feel miles away, when in fact it was only a few short footsteps. When he reached it, he expected it to be locked. He got his computer out just in case, but the door opened smoothly under his paw.

Empty.

His jaw dropped. "What on earth is going on here?"

His voice came out as a whisper. An unnecessary whisper. But he feared any loud noise might draw out a lurking mob. He tiptoed across the hall to the town hall's map. The governor's office was on the ground floor, just like in Cyan City. He paced down the hallway with DL in tow, her thickly furred feet silent on the tiled floor. The both of them readied their guns and crouched beside the closed door to the governor's office. Macro nudged it open and slipped inside laser first. A soft ringing reached his ears. His wide eyes flew around the room until they landed on the desk. A tiny chingling sat atop it, eating a sandwich much to big for him. His black eyes lit up when he saw Macro and he lowered his sandwich to give him a wave.

"Hiii!"

DL's eyes narrowed and she lowered her laser. "Tweak!" she hissed.

"Socket's PA?" Macro sneered. "What on earth are you doin' here."

"I'm here to relay a message." Tweak flopped across the desk and picked up a scrap of paper. He cleared his throat as if he was about to give an important speech. "Eggs, paper, ink... Oh wait, this is the governor's shopping list. Hang on." The chingling discarded the scrap in favour of another one. "'Relocate the memory disk to Strobe Street Apartment. Number forty eight.'"

Macro's heart felt like lead. His laser faltered and he stared at the grinning chingling, dumbfounded.

"'Make it easy'." Tweak looked up at him, still grinning. "That was my order." He discarded the paper and winked at Macro and DL. "Have fun! Maybe we'll meet again."

At that, Tweak vanished in a beam of purple light.

Every muscle in Macro's body trembled. He clutched his laser so tight he almost fired off an accidental ground beam at the wall. He placed it back in his holster and steadied himself against the door. Why that apartment? The wretched gothitelle... what was she planning?

"I don't like the sound of this," said DL. "Why 'make it easy'? Is it some kind of trick?"

"I'd say so," said Macro.

"Then let's leave it," said DL. "I can just relearn my attacks like a hatchling. We'll get there."

"But you want to know what happened to your parents," said Macro. "I can't exactly teach you that."

"No. But I could find out some other way."

"But you wouldn't know them," he explained. "They wouldn't be your memories. Just words from someone else. Didn't you have friends? Brothers or sisters?"

She fumbled with her belt and looked away from him. "I don't know."

"Then... then let's get this disk." Macro turned from the room, keeping his paw on the wall. "Maybe he wasn't lying about it being 'easy'."

"I don't understand why she's chosen this apartment," she said. "Do you think I used to live there or something?"

"I don't know." Macro's pads began to sweat, leaving marks on the wall. He retracted it to his side, avoiding DL's eyes. "You said you were in an orphanage."

"I know. Maybe something happened there?"

Macro stumbled out into the square, his legs turning to jelly. No, it was impossible. He scoured the skyline for the apartment block, clocking it just beyond the square. Then he grabbed his laser again and motioned the pachirisu towards it.

"If anything, she's getting at me," he explained. "I don't exactly have good memories about that apartment."

"Oh?" She turned her head to look at him. "What happened?"

"I don't like to talk about it," he said, getting a disappointed look in return. "Listen, I'll tell you everything once we're out of this place. I just wanna put it behind me. It gives me the heebie-jeebies. And all this eerie emptiness ain't exactly helpin' matters."

Strobe Street was just as Macro remembered it. It opened out onto a park which served as the lone apartment block's garden. Along the street was a club that seemed to exist solely to emulate the street's name. At night a strobe light flickered in the doorway, making anything that got too close also strobe like a badly executed stop-motion animation.

"Well, here we are." Macro approached the apartment's door. "Now to see how 'easy' he's made this."

Before attempting to use his computer to hack the door open, he instead stuck his claws in the side and pulled. The door slid open like a well-oiled machine. Macro's eyes widened and he felt his heart lurch in his chest. So far, things were going ridiculously easy, and he hated it.

"We don't have to do this." DL's soft voice placated him. "It's clearly upsetting you."

"No, I'm fine. We'll be quick. Quick and painless, like a band-aid."

He didn't even need to look at the floor chart. He knew exactly where forty eight was. It was on the forth floor, right beside the back stairwell. If they took the elevator, they'd be there in no time flat.

He called for it, and it came down smoothly. No rattle. Nothing like a Pulse City elevator. No indication it had ever been damaged. The musical chime as it reached them seemed so loud in the silence that Macro almost leapt out of his fur. DL placed a paw on his shoulder and he flushed, trying to mask his embarrassment.

The mirrored interior did nothing to alleviate the crushing claustrophobic feeling. Already he could smell smoke. Smoke that wasn't there, yet grew in intensity the closer they got to the fourth level. When the doors opened, everything was fine. No smoke. No blackness.

He sought out the door numbers, and groaned when he realised they were at the wrong end of the corridor. Forty and forty one.

The tiled floor was the one thing that was different since his last visit. No carpet. Nothing that can feed a fire. He rubbed his arms as a chill washed over him, and he tried to beat back an intrusive memory. A crying child's voice wailed in his mind and he shook his head violently, trying to dispel it. DL gave him a concerned look, and he realised she'd asked him something.

"Sorry?" he asked, running a hand over the base of his horn.

"I asked if you're okay?" She paused and pointed at a door. "Because we're here."

He fixed his eyes on the door. Open. Why was it open? He gave it a push, revealing a plush room. Definitely not as he remembered it. It had previously been filled with black and chrome furniture, belonging to a male. This clearly belonged to a mother and her family. He shrugged it off, relieved that he wasn't going to be reliving his time here much longer.

The disk sat on the dining table, right beside a plush pichu. His heart lurched into his throat and he snatched the disk, turning away from the plush toy.

"Got it. Let's go." He slipped past DL and out into the hallway.

"So it really was easy," she mused, closing the door behind them.

"Too easy," he said. "I don't understand it at all."

He held the disk between his thumb and index claw, scrutinising it. It looked like any other disk. He leant back against the elevator's glass wall and frowned, turning the disk back and forth. It was locked, just like the others. Deep down he worried it had been infected, and that dread was slowly growing. How was he ever meant to find out without putting DL at risk?

Once out of the apartment, he was glad to have it behind him. He popped the disk into his belt and walked as quickly as his legs would allow towards the docks. Still not a single pokemon in sight. Where was everyone? Had Tweak hidden the entire electric population?

"I'm gonna be honest, DL. I'm worried she's done something to this disk."

DL pawed at her ear and 'hmm'd'. "It was rather too easy. But... you did wonder if it was a way of getting to you?"

"Right now there'd be no better way of getting to me than hurting you." He paused beside his ship, realising what he'd just said.

She shifted beside him and looked out at the sky. "But... she doesn't know that, does she?"

"I dunno." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she does? I have been trying to help you, haven't I?"

"Well it would still be criminal." DL sighed and met his eyes. "You're going to install it anyway. If there's a chance at getting my moves back, I want that. But..." She trailed off and looked away from him, clawing at her ear.

He took her paw and steered her onto his ship. Once they were back in his familiar cockpit, a flood of relief washed through him. That was it. Botnet City would be miles behind them before he knew it. Back to Cyan City for a drink and a good rest. Unless it was the wrong disk... but after all that, Meta City could wait a day or two.

"Let's set this to auto pilot back to Cyan City," he said. "Then... then we'll install that disk."

It was a safety measure. He didn't know how to pilot the thing, and if DL ended up incapacitated, he didn't want to be left stranded. She said nothing as she coded in the co-ordinates. The ship flared to life, pulling away from Botnet City. Further away from his nightmares.

He pulled the disk from his pocket and popped it into his computer. A message popped up on the screen from Matrix. Probably wondering where he'd gone. That would have to wait until later.

The jack lead was tucked neatly away beneath Matrix's navigation deck. He pulled it out and connected one end to his computer. He had to sit down. His nerves were on fire, making everything tremble.

DL took it from him and loaded up the disk, then connected the jack lead to her socket.

"It's easy," she said. "Matrix just drags everything over. But... promise me something?"

He met her eyes as he took the computer back from her.

"Just..." She stuttered. "Every memory has had its own fair share of shocks since the second disk. I really don't want to be alone."

"You're not alone," he said. "We've never left you alone during this."

She sank into him, and he lifted a trembling paw to her shoulder. Now he understood what she meant. Her claws wound into his scarf, and he looked down at the computer. Such a simple procedure, yet it filled him with dread.

"I guess now isn't a good time to tell you I'm terrified, huh?" he asked.

Silence. Claws digging into his chest. He ignored it and dragged all the information from the disk to DL's internal computer.

She went limp, making his heart leap and stirring up nausea. His eyes snapped to her antenna, but it wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. That filled him with relief and he let out a sigh as he pulled her into him. Her concerns about the memories made a lot of sense to him now. If she was old enough to remember what happened to her parents, then she might not take it very well. He knew that feeling. When he lost his own mother, he'd not had anyone to turn to. No family. No friends.

The blinking light returned to its normal steady blue glow, and DL came back to her senses. Her claws dug back into his scarf. He trailed a paw over her shoulder and opened his mouth to speak, but her entire body turned rigid. Something collided with his chest, knocking him back into the dashboard. She scurried back from him on her bottom, her chocolate eyes cold and livid.

"It was you!" she screeched.

Macro's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You! You're the one who killed my parents!" She pulled herself up against the door, her entire body shaking. Her tail bristled like a brush.

He pushed himself to his feet and stretched a paw out to her. "Wait... DL..."

"Get away from me!" Electricity sparked from her yellow cheeks, but the sparks trailed behind her and she screamed, clutching a paw to the jack at the base of her skull. She removed the lead and threw it to the floor. "You're the reason I ended up in that orphanage. You're the reason I ended up with her!"

She turned and bolted down the corridor.

Macro sank down against the dashboard, tears pricking at his eyes. It all made so much sense now. Why Socket had sent him to that wretched apartment. Why it had been so 'easy'. A sob shook his body and he lowered his head into his arms. Tears soaked through his fur and he let out a low whine. DL had lived there. And he'd burnt it to the ground.

...

Anchor let out a cheer as the dash hummed to life. He leapt to his feet, smacking his head on the dashboard in the process. He ducked out from beneath it, rubbing at his mohawk.

"Looks like we've done it, guys!" he called to the back of the ship.

Switch scurried out from the engine room with Matrix on his head. The ribombee tapped at his tiny computer.

"Success," he said. "Power is re-routed from the engine, while still providing us with the means to move. The ship now has full power, and Macro still hasn't answered my message."

"Probably in the thick of trouble," Anchor growled.

Switch opened his beak to speak, but Anchor silenced him with a wave of his paw.

"I've had enough of your sass right now!" he said. "If you're gonna keep goin' on about my bad decisions, you can keep that beak shut."

Switch raised a wing. "I wasn't going to give you any sass."

"Then what were you gonna say?"

The talonflame closed his beak and huddled down beside the door.

"Thought so," said Anchor. "Let's get this bag of bolts to Botnet City then, and lend Macro a paw."

He sat back in the captain's chair and steered the ship towards Botnet City. It rocked and swayed as what was left of the tympole's rudder tail strained to push them on.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Switch keeled forward, turning pale beneath his feathers.

"Me too. There ain't no way we're gonna make it in time," said Anchor. "I'd send another message, just in case he didn't hear it the first time."

"Already well ahead of you." Matrix popped his computer away and landed on the dash beside Anchor. "Wow, it feels like we're sailing through the ocean."

Switch dry-heaved behind them.

Anchor sighed and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle. "Come on, Macro. Give us a sign of life at least."

...

Fire. So much fire.

No matter what Macro did, he couldn't clear the image from his head. He huddled against the dashboard, staring blankly at the door, watching the blaze in his mind.

A little voice cut through the inferno, snapping Macro back to reality. "Captain?"

He jerked his head up to meet Cookie's concerned face. The brown slurpuff stood with a tray in his chubby paws, topped with a pink ice cream smoothie.

"I brought you something," he said. "Since you missed lunch."

"I'm not hungry."

Macro let his paws fall from his lap to his sides. His claws brushed his computer and he looked down at it. 'Matrix, 2 messages'.

"Okay, well..." Cookie shuffled his feet. "If you change your mind-"

"I'll tell you." Macro picked up his computer and opened the messages, quickly reading over them. "You have to be kidding me..."

'Hey, Macro. That ship you hit? That was us, you big goof.'

He shook his head as he opened the next one.

'We've got it running again, but it sucks. Come get us.'

Macro pulled himself to his feet, stuffing his computer into his pocket. So he'd almost killed his own crew. He'd almost lost everything... He bit back a sob and turned to the controls. How on earth was he meant to steer this thing? To find them? How far behind were they now? He checked the messages again. The most recent one had only been sent five minutes ago. That gave him some hope at least.

He fired off a message of his own, telling them to look for him. That he was only ten minutes away from Botnet City, in auto pilot to Cyan City. Then he stuffed it back into his pouch and leant back against the dashboard.

Cookie was still stood in the cockpit. Macro fixed one eye on him, prompting the slurpuff to speak.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yeh. Anchor and the others are in Surge's ship. I almost blew it up." Macro waved a paw at Cookie and moved into the corridor. "Do with that what you will."

"DL doesn't look too good either."

Macro froze in the doorway, not looking back at Cookie. "Yeh well... that's because I killed her family."

Cookie let out a squeal and dropped the tray. The smoothie glass smashed on the floor, sending ice cream everywhere. Macro didn't even flinch.

"Yeh," he went on. "I'm a walking wreck. My past always comes back to haunt me. Now I've hurt her, too."

He shuffled out of the cockpit towards his room. Soft sobs froze him in his tracks and he looked over at DL's door. The knife in his chest twisted. He turned and placed a paw on the panel, letting the door slide open. DL lay huddled on top of the duvet, but her ear twitched at the sound of someone entering.

"Go away," she growled.

"No," he said. "Not until you hear me out."

"Go away!"

She sat bolt upright as she launched a pillow at his head. It bounced off and hit the floor. He flinched. How on earth did a pillow hurt?

"DL, listen to me," he said. "That day you're remembering is the worst day of my life."

"Yeh? Well oddly enough it's not the worst day of mine." She flopped back onto her bed and turned her back on him. "Yet you're responsible for both of them."

"It was an accident. A terrible one!"

"An accident doesn't bring my family back, or take this computer out of my head."

"I know. I don't have the power to change any of that. But believe me, I want to help you."

"And what makes it worse?" She lifted her head slightly and stared at the wall. "I've kissed my parents' killer. The sleazy pirate responsible for landing me in that orphanage!"

He clenched his paws so tightly his claws dug into his pads. He let out a choked sob and collapsed against the door.

"I had a sister, too," she went on. "Not even a year old. She also died in that fire. And given I had no surviving family prior to that, I am well and truly alone." Her voice broke off and she sobbed into her pillow. "Now go away."

"I'm sorry," he choked.

"I don't want to hear it. Now leave!"

"No! Please, just listen to me!" He sank down to the floor. "I'm not some murderous monster!"

DL didn't answer, but he could see her body shaking as she sobbed silently, curled tightly into a ball. She clutched her thick tail like a comfort blanket. All he wanted to do was scoop her into his arms and comfort her, hating the pokemon who'd done this to her. He screwed his eyes shut and swiped the tears away with the back of his paw.

"You must have noticed other pokemon call me Hunter," he said. "Well, truth is that was never my real name. It was some dumb alias I adopted from the first group of pirates who took me on."

"What's that got to do with anything?" she spat.

"Everything." He paused and wound his paws together. "Hunter died that day."

She wiped her eyes with a paw, but she didn't look back at him. Her ears pricked up, that was enough to spur him on.

"You see, Anchor and I took a job in Botnet City," he said. "Was a weapons raid, someone had tipped us off that Socket had links with a guy who made explosives. Government weapons are like gold in Pulse City, and I was their main supplier. Things never went easy, but I couldn't turn my nose up at one guy making them in his apartment.

"When we got there, getting in was easy. Simple hack job, broke the door. Same old, same old. His apartment were empty though, and filled with chrome and black furniture. I remember that little detail clearly. Stuffed in his bedroom, or what would have been his bedroom, was a lab full of explosives. We grabbed all we could as quick as we could and made to leave. Three sacks between us. Anchor carried two.

"What we weren't expecting was to run into a heavily armed, almost entirely cybernetic electabuzz in the hallway. No sooner he saw us, he was swinging his mechanical arm about, slicing at me with leaf blades, throwing water shurikens. All stuff electabuzz aren't meant to know. But in this day and age, it's hardly surprising. So we fought back. Dropped the bags, well Anchor dropped his bags, I kept mine on my shoulder and fired my laser with my free arm. I was aiming for his bionic parts. 'Take them out, he can't do anything.' They weren't impervious to my ground lasers, but they kept bouncing off and hitting the wall. Left horrible scuff marks, and some blew chunks in them. That's where part of the disaster happened.

"You see, Anchor was relying heavily on his fire fang. Trying to get in close-"

"Don't you go blaming him for the fire!" DL hissed.

"I'm not!" Macro snapped. "Like I said, it was an accident! Anyway, he couldn't hit the guy with his fire fang. So he tried his gauntlets. Good thing he brought them along, because a few thunder punches and he shorted the electabuzz's main weapon arm. So he retaliated back with a thunder punch of his own. Met Anchor's gauntlet head on. Sparks flew and hit the exposed wires. They overheated and ignited, sparking all along the corridor and burning through the paint. That's when I decided to bail. Fired one more ground laser at his legs and ran.

"I thought Anchor was behind me, but he wasn't. He was still fightin' that electabuzz. He had Anchor cornered against the wall. So I fired again, blowing the electabuzz back. I kinda caught Anchor in the blast. Injured his leg. He grabbed one sack of the explosives and limped after me. But that electabuzz weren't down for the count. He got back up and fired off his other, weaker limb. So I panicked. I fired back and the lasers hit. Water and ground. It's so ironic that they caused a blast that ignited the bombs. Nails flew everywhere from that sack, along with sparks, igniting newly exposed wires. The wall and floor caved in, and that guy's room collapsed. I fell right through to the floor below, but Anchor didn't come with me.

"He looked down at me. Asked if I were okay. I weren't, I'd landed on a sack of explosives that thankfully hadn't blown me sky high. But fire were everywhere. Another explosion came from outside and shook the building. There went the rest of the guy's work. Thankfully not taking the whole place down with it. I told him to find the quickest way out and take it, I'd do the same.

"When I looked around, I were sat in a smoldering pile of rubble. And it was growing quickly. I had to get out, but the window was blocked off by wood and steel. Wires sparked right by it, lighting up whatever they touched. So I turned and ran for the door.

"That's when I grew aware of alarms blaring. Pokemon fled from the apartment. I had to duck back into the room and wait for them to clear. No sense being caught and accused for it all. The floor above me was ablaze now. There was no runnin' to the rooftops and waitin' for Wildcard Beta. No waitin' for Digit to send down the ladder. No waitin' for Anchor to bail me out. I grabbed the sack of explosives and tried to find the most fire-free route.

"It weren't easy. It spread fast along the wires. Fuse boxes exploded. The alarm went off, plunging the place into silence. All the screams were outside, so I guessed everyone had got out. That gave me a lot of freedom to find my own way without getting caught. I tell you, there's little as frightening as clambering through a blaze with a sack of explosives. But I weren't leaving it behind to blow up in the blaze. Noble or foolish? I think it were the latter. Place was already falling to bits.

"But when I got to the second floor, the stairs were blocked up. Hot fire licked at my fur, reminding me if I climbed through it, I'd go up with the bombs. So I had to find another way. I tell you, I've never been so scared. I never admitted it to Anchor either. Or Digit. As I climbed along a blazing hallway looking for a window, I heard crying. A little kid crying, not an adult. It froze me. I realised I wasn't the only one still in there. Pokemon were trapped.

"I kicked the door down, not wanting to fire off my laser again. It took more than one kick, too. Three hits and I was in, and greeted by thick smoke and intense heat. They'd been two floors below the blast, yet bits of ceiling and furniture lay about the place where it had fallen through. Flames licked down like stalactites. It were like some fiery cave. The crying was louder, and I spotted two pokemon under all that rubble. A raichu, and the tail of a female pikachu. It didn't take a genius to work out the both of them were dead." His voice broke off and he took a steadying breath. "I'd never witnessed that. But I tried to shut it out, find the crying child. I took the room to the right, climbing over a fallen beam. The tiny room was in a better state than the other one, but smoke billowed down from above. And there, standing in a cot-bed screaming for his parents was a pichu.

"I grabbed him under one arm, told him we'd get out of there. He kept asking where his parents were, but I wouldn't let him see the mess. I couldn't. I dropped the sack, grabbed my laser, and blasted a hole into the next apartment. The entire place could've come down, I don't know what I was thinkin'. I suppose seeing your own mother lying dead does weird things to your head. You don't want anyone else to experience the same, especially not a kid barely two years old.

"I grabbed the sack again and, with the pichu under one arm, climbed into the next room. I checked the window - too high up. If we jumped, we'd both die. I needed to get down another floor. So I ran for the door, but before I reached it the floor began to give way. Flames erupted up from it like a flippin' volcano. I back-pedalled to the window and took another look out. Grass. The park. Teaming with pokemon. Was it really worth jumping two floors?

"I had no choice. I dropped the sack, grabbed the kid in both arms, and threw myself backwards out the window. I heard screams. Yelps of surprise. But I missed the grass by a good way, landing in a pond. I rose up sputtering, nudged aside by a water dweller. The seaking stared at me, questioning. I apologised. Told him I had to run, and could he get the kid to shore? The pichu shouted for me, but I left him. Clambered out and ran as fast as I could out of the park.

"If anyone gave chase, I've no clue. But they knew I were responsible. I wouldn't have been worth forty thousand credits if no one knew. But that's when things really fell apart. Digit told me I were crazy. She left the next day. And I made the decision to scrap Wildcard Beta. Hunter's trademark huntail would fly no more. That were its last mission, and one I desperately wanted to forget." He took in a trembling breath and stared at the window. "But I can't. I don't think I ever will."

DL shuffled on the bed, briefly glancing up at him. "More than twenty pokemon died in that blaze."

"I know."

"I'm glad you thought to rescue Cogs, but that doesn't make up for it."

"I know."

She sighed and rolled back to face the wall. "No one ever mentioned Cogs' mysterious rescuer. Or the seaking. All I know about it is he somehow survived and made it outside when his parents didn't. He kept saying it was a pirate, but no one believed him. Thought it was just childish babble, or that he was traumatised. He ended up at Botnet City orphanage, taking one of the few places left, while I ended up in Meta City."

"I don't expect recognition, I started the flippin' thing."

"Loop spent years hating Hunter for what he did," said DL.

Macro looked up at her, but she still had her back to him.

"Now I don't know," she went on. "I want to forgive you, but I don't think I can. Not right now."

There was that twisting knife again. He leant forwards on his knees and buried his face into his arms.

"I'll stay here until we get back to Cyan City," she said. "Then I'm going my own way. I'll get that last disk somehow, but I won't be accepting your help anymore."

He lifted his head again and wiped fresh tears from his cheeks. "I have escape pods." His voice wavered.

"Huh?"

"I have escape pods," he repeated. "You may as well use them. I'll be scrapping this ship after all this is over anyway. This will be the last job I ever take."

"What are you talking about?" she scoffed.

"I'm saying Wildcard is over. I can't take this anymore. Living in fear and pain."

"Now you're trying to be a martyr?" She gave a single, dry laugh. "I'd say you've brought it all on yourself. Now leave."

He pushed himself to his feet, anger burning inside him. He flashed a canine in her direction and scanned the door open. "You want that pod or not?"

"I'll take it. I guess getting it back doesn't matter since you're 'scrapping this ship'."

He stomped from the room and let the door close behind him. His throat tightened as he repressed a sob and pushed himself towards the cockpit. Right before him flew a huge tympole, struggling to stay airborne. It looked like it had just done a lap of Wildcard Gamma and was preparing to do another one. He muttered under his breath and pushed the button for the cargo hold. The wishiwashi opened its jaws, swallowing the tympole whole. It closed again behind it, and he turned to head to the cargo hold.

Before he reached it, a disgruntled granbull threw the door open.

"What in the world, Macro?!" he snapped. "First you take off, then you take forever and a day to spot us? Or were you just watchin' for... Good grief, are you all right?"

Matrix landed on Anchor's shoulder and leant forward to examine Macro. "Your eyes are all puffy."

"DL's leaving," said Macro. "She's taking one of the pods."

Anchor's jaw dropped. "What happened?"

Macro moved across the loot room to the far side, where two small escape pods waited. There were two on either side of the ship, each one resembling a tiny part of the schooling wishiwashi. The little blue fish were big enough for two pokemon of Anchor's size to comfortably sit in.

Switch shuffled behind him, watching his every movement. "You two looked so happy back in Cyan City. What could happen in only a day?"

"Remember that fire back in Botnet?" Macro asked Anchor. "Well apparently her parents lived in that apartment."

"You're kiddin' me?" Anchor scoffed. "So you got her memories then?"

"Yep. And Socket made it real easy for me by vacating the entire city, and relocating the disk to the very apartment number all of that started in."

"The vindictive little..." Anchor clenched his fists and seethed. "So now she's leavin'... Guess it's some sneaky way of Socket gettin' her alone, huh."

Macro froze with one paw over the escape pod's panel. He hadn't considered that.

"Then there's no way she's going alone." He turned to face his crew, and his eyes fell on Switch. "Could you... would you go with her?"

His voice cracked again, and he bit back fresh tears. No, not in front of his crew.

Switch nodded his head. "Of course. Anything."

Macro took a steadying breath and moved away from the pod. "Look after her then. Make sure Socket doesn't get her wicked paws on her." His voice broke off and he slumped into the wall, wiping away fresh tears.

'If DL still wishes to obtain Loop's memories, then by all means find them... But be warned that chasing down these disks will result in pain for the both of you.'

The memory of Solgaleo's words caused a dry, strangled choke to escape his throat. If he'd known exactly what pain they'd have caused... would he have still gone after them?

"Go and lie down, Cap'n," said Anchor. "We'll sort this out."

Macro waved a paw over his shoulder and slumped to his room. Exhausted, beaten and sore. Fresh tears continued to fall long after he heard the escape pod rattle away.